The Latest: Labour’s Lindsay Hoyle elected new speaker

In this photo provided by the UK Parliament, British Members of Parliament vote in favour of the Creasy amendment to the Election Bill, in the House of Commons, London, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019. After months of stalemate in Parliament, Britain appeared on course Tuesday for an early general election that could break the country’s political deadlock over Brexit. Opposition lawmakers backed in principle the government’s request to send voters to the polls in December —though Prime Minister Boris Johnson still faced a tussle over the exact date. (UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor via AP)

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LONDON (AP) — The Latest on the election to select a new U.K. House of Commons speaker (all times local):

8:25 p.m.

Long-serving Labour Party lawmaker Lindsay Hoyle has been elected the new speaker of Britain’s House of Commons. He succeeds the influential but divisive John Bercow.

The 62-year-old legislator won 325 of 540 votes cast by lawmakers in a final round of voting on Monday.

Hoyle emerged as the winner from a field of seven candidates after four rounds of secret-ballot voting that took several hours.

He has served as one of three deputy speakers since 2010 and is well liked and respected by lawmakers.

The speaker runs debates and enforces parliamentary rules. The role is supposed to be strictly impartial, but Brexit supporters accused Bercow of favoring opponents of Britain’s exit from the European Union.

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7:25 p.m.

The contest to become the next speaker of Britain’s House of Commons is going to a run-off between the two last candidates standing: Labour’s Lindsay Hoyle and Chris Bryant.

After three rounds of voting, seven candidates have been cut to two. Hoyle won 267 of the 565 votes cast, more than Bryant’s 169 but short of the overall majority needed to win.

Both men are Labour Party lawmakers, and Hoyle currently serves as a deputy speaker.

Eleanor Laing, a Conservative and the final woman still in the running, came last in the third round and was cut from the race. Of 157 Commons speakers in British parliamentary history, only one has been a woman.

The winner of Monday’s contest will replace John Bercow, who stepped down last week after a decade in the job.

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6:05 p.m.

Three candidates are left in the race to become the next speaker of Britain’s House of Commons after two rounds of voting.

Lawmakers are voting by secret ballot, with poorly performing candidates dropping out each time.

Of the seven initial candidates, three remain: Labour lawmaker Lindsay Hoyle, Conservative Eleanor Laing and Labour’s Chris Bryant. Hoyle is the front-runner, winning 244 of the 575 votes cast in the second round.

A candidate needs to secure a majority of votes to win.

The winner will replace John Bercow, who stepped down last week after a decade in the job.

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4:35 p.m.

Two candidates to become speaker of Britain’s House of Commons have been eliminated in a first round of voting, leaving five lawmakers in the race to succeed John Bercow in the pivotal post.

Labour lawmaker Meg Hillier and Conservative legislator Edward Leigh received less than 5% of the votes cast and, under the contests’ rules, dropped out.

Lindsay Hoyle, who is currently a deputy speaker, won the first round, with 211 of the 562 votes cast. Runners-up were Eleanor Laing, who is also a deputy speaker, and Labour legislator Chris Bryant.

The speaker runs debates, chooses speakers and enforces parliamentary rules. Bercow became a global celebrity for his bellowing cries of “Or-derrr!” during heated debates about Brexit. He retired last week after a decade in the job.

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3 p.m.

Candidates to become the next speaker of Britain’s House of Commons are promising to restore faith in politics and return civility to Parliament after the contentious term of former Speaker John Bercow.

The seven contenders are promising to bring calm to a chamber that has seen divisive and bad-tempered debates over Britain’s departure from the European Union. Bercow was accused by some Brexit supporters of favoring pro-EU politicians — a claim he denies.

Candidates to replace him are making pitches to lawmakers before voting later Monday.

Rosie Winterton, currently a deputy speaker, says that if she gets the job she will “douse the flames, not pour petrol on them. . calming the tone and lowering the temperature when the House gets overheated.”

Rival Chris Bryant says he will be “a speaker who is an umpire, not a player.”

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12:55 p.m.

A British Conservative legislator has dropped out of the race to become the next House of Commons speaker.

Shailesh Vara says he doesn’t have the numbers to win. There are now seven contenders to succeed the influential yet controversial Bercow, including his three deputies — Lindsay Hoyle, Rosie Winterton and Eleanor Laing — and long-serving Labour lawmaker Harriet Harman.

Bercow’s successor will run the daily business of the Commons, keeping lawmakers in line with robust cries of “Order!”

Some politicians want to see a more cautious approach than that taken by Bercow, who prided himself on making the government answer to Parliament. Critics accused him of favoring anti-Brexit politicians at the expense of supporters of leaving the European Union.

British lawmakers are electing a new House of Commons speaker to replace the influential yet controversial John Bercow.

Bercow retired last week after a decade that saw him become a central player in Britain’s Brexit drama.

His successor will run the daily business of the Commons, keeping lawmakers in line with robust cries of “Order!”

Some politicians want to see a more cautious approach than that taken by Bercow, who prided himself on making the government answer to Parliament. Critics accused him of favoring anti-Brexit politicians at the expense of supporters of leaving the European Union.

There are eight contenders, including Bercow’s three deputies and long-serving Labour lawmaker Harriet Harman.